We’ve all awakened in the middle of the night with those late-night cravings that just won’t go away. Should you give in? The answer, which may surprise you, is yes.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s nothing sinister about snacking long after the sun goes down – as long as you have healthy snacks to munch on and limit yourself to smaller portions.
Also “avoid snacking between meals” isn’t necessarily great advice, especially for people with diabetes or if you may be prediabetic. In fact, going long periods of time, like more than three to four hours, without eating can actually work against you if your goal is to keep blood sugar stable and stave off hunger.
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What’s better? Indulging in a powerful mix of just the right nutrients and flavors to balance blood sugar and stop your cravings.
The snacks on this list are about two hundred calories or less, which is good when it comes to figuring out which snacks will work for (and not against) your goal of maintaining weight while also keeping blood sugar balanced.
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Here a few suggestions to help you get started:
1. A Small Bowl Of Oatmeal Topped With A Few Slices Of Banana
Cereal is a snack that is craved in the wee hours of the morning. Instead of sugary cereal in milk, try oatmeal.
The grains in oatmeal increase your insulin levels, which causes your blood sugar levels to rise naturally.
This helps you fall back to sleep easier.
2. Half An Apple With 1 Ounce Of Low-Fat Cheese Or Peanut Butter
Apples are rich in vitamin C and B6, both of which can help lower your blood pressure and reduce stress after coming home from a long, hard day at work.
Not to mention, the sweetness of the apple, mixed with the tartness of cheese will help stop your sweet and savory tooth!
3. Cheese Quesadilla
Sprinkle some shredded low-fat cheese, in between a couple of high-fiber tortillas (not flour!), then crisp both sides on a cast-iron skillet or indoor grill like a George Foreman grill.
The healthiest cheeses have just 3-5 grams of fat per ounce.
4. 10-12 Unsalted Pretzels
Not only are pretzels a great alternative to potato chips, but they also naturally increase your blood sugar and insulin levels, so you can fall asleep faster.
Add a glass of water after eating the pretzels and you'll feel full...seriously.
5. 1 Banana With A Tablespoon Of Almond Butter
Bananas are loaded with potassium and magnesium – great for relaxing your muscles and nerves right before you go to bed.
READ: The 10 Best Office Snacks
6. A Handful Of Cherries With A ½ Cup Of Greek Yogurt
Cherries boost your body’s supply of melatonin, a hormone that’s known for inducing sleep. Or you could blend it up and make a smoothie.
7. A Small Portion Of Any Food
Instead of eating until you're full or denying yourself your favorite meal, just eat a little bit of it. What is a little?
If it can't fit in the palm of your hand (roughly three inches in diameter), it's too much.
That way you eat what you want, but just not all of it.
Visit the BlackDoctor.org Food center for more articles.
Travel Often? 5 Healthy Airport Foods For Your Next Trip
If you’ve ever stepped foot inside an airport, you probably know that the food choices are not exactly healthy.
Most of what you can find on the fly (pun definitely intended) is something like vending machine snacks, maybe a pre-made sandwich, and all the sodas you can possibly imagine.
If you have the misfortune of traveling through a small airport, you can pretty much forget about finding a whole meal, let alone something healthy.
Even in a sea of unhealthy food options at airports, Sharita Jennings, founder of Get Fit Like That, is here to help. She’s put together this list of healthy or at least kind-of healthy food that you can find at most airports when you’re starving and short on time.
When eating during long travel days, keep in mind that light meals are typically best, especially if you’ll be seated for multiple hours.
In the air, your body shuts down the digestive process making your food sit in your stomach for hours, and resulting in discomfort and other digestive issues when you land.
Try to avoid big heavy meals full of starches, opting instead to snack on something small when you need to.
If you don’t have time for a sit-down meal at the airport where you can get a good serving of protein and veggies, keep reading to find the healthiest food options in any airport.
CHECK THIS: 15 Snacks That Burn Belly Fat
1. Fresh Fruit or Fresh Anything
Just about every airport terminal has a cafe or newsstand with some apples or bananas available for you to indulge in.
This is one of the simplest ways to stay healthy and curb your appetite on your travel days.
If you have the choice between a pastry and fruit, go with the fruit!
The same goes for pretty much any fresh item you can find at the airport from a salad to a sandwich as it will have fewer artificial ingredients that might upset your stomach on a long flight.
2. Nuts and Seeds
Amidst all the sweets and bags of chips, most airport markets have bags of mixed nuts and/or seeds.
This is a great option to curb your craving while you wait around and pack in some protein in the process.
The only thing to watch out for when snacking on peanuts, almonds, and other varieties of nuts is the calories.
Typically, even a small snack bag contains more than 1 serving of calories and fat.
So if you can find a small bag to go with that fruit, that’s a safe bet.
3. Protein Snack Packs
Starbucks and some airport food stands usually have a refrigerated section with lunch boxes or snack packs full of boiled eggs, a salad, and/or a small sandwich.
This might not be the best tasting option available, but it is a great option to have everything you need in a meal and keep you stay full for hours.
4. Oatmeal
You can usually find oatmeal packs at even the smallest of airports. Oatmeal is a simple and quick meal that can help to keep you full thanks to its high fiber content. If you can add some fruit, even better.
The fiber will prevent you from feeling like crap (another intended pun) once you land.
5. Nutrition and Protein Bars
This is a tricky purchase whether you’re at the grocery store or at the airport.
When you really need something fast, a high protein bar is a great option.
But, something to look out for is the sugar and carb content.
Even the popular protein bars can have as much sugar and carbs as your favorite candy bar, if not more!
So be careful with which bar you choose and look for the highest protein content and the fewest grams of sugar as possible.
Bonus points if you can avoid too many artificial ingredients or those you can’t pronounce.
Don’t forget that the best way to avoid the temptation to eat poorly when traveling is to come prepared with your own snacks and even meals if you can!
You’ll save money and time going back and forth about which protein bar is the healthiest.
Sharita Jennings is a fitness and travel enthusiast and creator of Get Fit Like That, LLC. She is a health policy attorney and ACE certified group fitness instructor and fitness nutrition specialist. She provides online fitness plans and leads group fitness classes in Washington DC. Check out her fitness tips and workouts at GetFitLikeThat.com.
